Returning to Childhood Through Art

Sometimes art asks us to move forward. Other times, it asks us to go back.

Recently I revisited one of my assemblage sculptures and felt the urge to push it further into the world of imagination—the kind of imagination we often leave behind as adults. As I began making changes, the piece slowly evolved into what I now think of as a childhood assemblage sculpture, a work shaped by the playful creativity and curiosity that children bring naturally to the act of making.

I started adding elements that a child might instinctively reach for at a craft table: butterflies, colorful flowers, bright feathers, and beads that resemble oversized pink gumballs. These materials carry a sense of joy and wonder. They are the kinds of things a child might gather without hesitation, guided more by curiosity and delight than by rules of composition or restraint.

At the center of the sculpture is an antique oilcan. When I first encountered it, I saw an object that had already lived a full life—something used, worn, and perhaps discarded. But when I began looking at it through the eyes of my younger self, the oilcan started to change.

A preschooler might not see an old oilcan at all.

They might see a creature.

The spout becomes a nose.
The handle becomes a tail.
The body becomes something alive with personality and story.

In creating “Childhood,” I carefully selected used found objects and allowed them to transform through imagination. What was once a tool becomes a character. What was once discarded becomes something playful and alive. In that sense, this piece became a childhood assemblage sculpture, shaped by the idea that objects can become something entirely different when viewed through a child’s imagination.

This act of repurposing is not simply an artistic decision. It is also an acknowledgment of the boundless creativity children possess. Children naturally blur the line between what something is and what it could become. A cardboard box becomes a spaceship. A stick becomes a magic wand. A handful of craft supplies becomes an entire world.

In revisiting this sculpture, I tried to return to that mindset.

The butterflies, flowers, beads, and feathers are not meant to be subtle. They are joyful. They are colorful. They feel spontaneous and playful—exactly the way a child might decorate their creation.

In many ways, this sculpture is less about the oilcan and more about the act of seeing. It asks us to pause and remember a time when imagination came easily, when ordinary objects were invitations to play, and when creativity flowed without hesitation. By embracing that perspective, this work ultimately became a childhood assemblage sculpture—a reminder that the creativity we had as children may still be waiting for us to rediscover it.

Returning to this piece also became an exercise in mindfulness. By slowing down and paying attention to the possibilities within ordinary objects, I was reminded of how creativity invites us to be present in the moment. Children naturally approach the world this way—curious, open, and fully engaged with what is in front of them. Through this childhood assemblage sculpture, I was able to reconnect with that sense of awareness and play, discovering once again that art can be a quiet practice of mindfulness, where imagination and attention meet.

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“Childhood” — a childhood assemblage sculpture transforming an antique oilcan into a colorful, whimsical creature using feathers, butterflies, flowers, and bright beads.